Four years after signing 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, then a relatively unknown winger at Portuguese club Sporting, Manchester United has spent big money on two young prospects from Portuguese clubs.

United agreed to sign Sporting winger Nani, who has been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, for $35 million and Porto's Brazilian playmaker, Anderson, dubbed the new Ronaldinho, for a similar amount.

The 20-year-old Nani, a left winger, had also been linked with Tottenham Hotspur. He was named in the Portugal squad for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier in Belgium.

A broken leg suffered last fall did not deter interest by a host of European clubs in the 19-year-old Anderson, the MVP of the 2005 Under-17 World Cup.

He played the last two seasons for Porto after leaving Gremio and had a brilliant Champions League campaign before his injury in a Portuguese league game against Benfica. He is on the short list for Brazil coach Dunga's squad for the Copa America in Venezuela.